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Goldie’s, the five-week-old cafe of Sarah McWilliam, former head chef at Bloodwood, and co-owner Nicole Matak, is laden with space and light and particularly attentive staff in muted pink aprons serving diverting takes on Cal-Mex, with a fusion of Japanese, California and Australian cuisine and traditional Mexican cooking.

On this autumnal morning it is best described as all (good) things to all people.

In one section of the cafe, sitting beneath fernery bridging the two-shop-wide space, is a family group sharing trios of baja fish, cauliflower or pork and pineapple tacos, each delicately coiffed with almost iridescent hillocks of pico de gallo, salsa verde, coleslaw, red onion, avocado, corn or aioli.

A solo diner, parked beside a photo of a goat wearing sunglasses and a pink and green sloppy Joe, lingers over chilli scrambled eggs, with fat broccolini, pickled onion and goat’s curd.

Two tradies, sitting on gelato pink chairs beside potted palms, eat Goldie’s most popular dish, the Cali burrito bowl, a belt-loosening combination of avocado, Mexican beans, pico de gallo, fried egg, salsa verde, corn, coleslaw and corn chips. And that’s with the all-guns-blazing suggested extras of halloumi, chorizo and another fried egg.

Sitting outside on footpath tables, two older gentlemen hoe into the sort of salad sandwiches good school canteens triumph at. Thick bread stacked with carrot, beetroot, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, coleslaw, cheese, pickled zucchini and salad cream.

And, in the middle of all these people sits a toddler enthralled with a cheese quesadilla smeared with guacamole and a strawberry milkshake while their mother eats the Me So Peachy French toast with miso caramel and honey crunch.

It’s clear McWilliam, a Dulwich Hill resident and parent to a small child, knows her neighbourhood. Catering to such a broad group of people, with food that is generous, wide-ranging and zinging with flavour and thought (and bereft of kid-sized bland pasta or chicken nuggets), is part of McWilliam’s plan.

“The whole menu is all-day, which is probably annoying to the staff,” she says. “But I’ve always been trained as a chef that, if you’ve got it, do it.

“I love good fresh food and I love giving people a good amount. Customers are cleaning their plates here, but I still want it to be generous.

“It’s funny, when I went shopping for the plates for here, so many are now designed for small service. I think it’s because people [running restaurants] have to cut down because costs are so high.”

McWilliam, who also co-owned Meet Gerard in Alexandria and worked as chef at West Juliett and Two Chaps, says Goldie’s muted pink, peppermint and caramel fit-out is an ode to a beachy, relaxing Cali-Palm Springs vibe.

“I love the beach and I’ve worked in the eastern suburbs for ages,” she says. “I wanted a space that felt fun and relaxing and chill and I wanted to bring the beach over here in a non-tacky way.”

The width of two shopfronts, Goldie’s wide girth also offers space between diners and respite for pram-pushers and their occupants.

“One of the biggest things for me as the mum of a young child is pram space,” McWilliam says. “You want mums to not feel like they’re an inconvenience, taking out chairs and trying to fit in.

“And it’s just much more comfortable eating for everyone.”

There are other notable points about Goldie’s, named after actress Goldie Hawn, too. Bookings can be made to avoid weekend queues, everyone can watch McWilliam and fellow chef Indy Hocking cooking in the open kitchen and there are jars or packets of housemade granola, furikake, chilli oil, zickles (pickled zucchini) and salsa rojo to buy. McWilliam is also working to get a liquor licence to extend the lazy, beside the sand and surf California vibe.

“You’ll be able to have a margarita with your corn chips and guacamole or salmon noodle salad,” she says. “Over this side, away from the beach, that’s been missing. Something a bit more chilled, a bit more sophisticated.”